Saturday Night Live Goes Dark on NBC Ahead of Pete Davidson's Big Return
Paul Dailly
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If you were counting down the days until Pete Davidson's highly-publicized Saturday Night Live return, we have some news you may not be fond of.
The NBC sketch show has been shut down until further notice as a result of the Writers Guild of America strike.
"SNL will air repeats until further notice starting Saturday, May 6," NBC said in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
The series was set to proceed with new episodes until May 20, with its planned season finale.
Saturday's new episode would have included Davidson returning for the first time since he departed a year ago.
As a result, there was a lot of excitement for the big episode that would have been used to promote the star's new Peacock series, Bupkis.
Several performers on the show are part of the writing staff, which would make running the next three episodes during a strike a logistical nightmare.
It's unclear at this stage whether Davidson will return when the strike ends, which could be months away.
There truly is no telling what could happen because of the unpredictable nature of whether the two sides can agree to a deal.
Other late-night shows affected include NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers, CBS' The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The strike could last weeks, months, or at worst, years.
The previous strike in 2007 lasted 100 days, so we'll need to wait to find out whether a deal can be reached between the two sides.
NBC got the ball rolling on new episodes of La Brea, Night Court, and Quantum Leap fairly early.
Many episodes are in the can for each show, which should give the network a decent chance at a fall schedule if the strike continues for any length of time.
What are your thoughts on the news?
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Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
